Positioning devices may be employed in applications of varying scale, such as in microscopy (e.g., scanning probe microscopy), micro-assembly, and nano-assembly. Positioning devices may also be employed in applications of varying function, such as for probing, characterization, imaging and testing, as well as for manipulation and assembly.
Such positioning devices may be employed where it is necessary for a subject piece being examined or assembled to be coarsely positioned on a larger scale, such as to move the subject generally into place, and then finely positioned on a smaller scale to complete examination or assembly. Moreover, fine positioning can be critical to manipulation and examination of small-scale assemblers, probes, and scanning microscopes. For example, on very small scales, vibrations that may be caused by traditional coarse positioning devices can become intolerable. Nonetheless, it is often desirable or necessary for coarse positioning and fine positioning to be available on the same device.
The terms “micro-electronic device” and “micro-assembly” are employed generically herein to encompass micro-electronic components, micro-mechanical components, micro-electro-mechanical components, MEMs components and assemblies thereof. Generally, micro-electronic devices have feature dimensions that are less than about 1000 microns. The present disclosure also relates to nano-electronic devices, including nano-electro-mechanical devices (NEMs), which may have feature dimensions that are less than about 10 microns. Macro-scale electronic devices may also be used to generate movements on a microscopic scale and are also within the scope of the present disclosure. Macro-scale devices generally have feature dimensions that are larger than about 1000 microns, although 1000 microns is not an absolute demarcation between micro-scale and macro-scale devices.